Bone Marrow and Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Donations

 First :- Being a bone marrow donor

If you have been identified as a match for bone marrow donation (HLA matched) you will be scheduled for an evaluation by one of our BMT physicians.

Although donating marrow generally poses no danger to the donor, the general anesthesia used during the procedure poses some risks. For this reason you will undergo a careful medical evaluation to ensure that you are in good health. This will include a physical examination and a medical history. You will also be screened for a variety of medical conditions using blood tests, a chest X-ray and an EKG. If you are evaluated as a good candidate, the harvest will be scheduled.

If you are called upon to serve as a bone marrow donor, the medical procedure you will undergo is called a bone marrow harvest. It is a surgical procedure that typically requires one overnight stay in the hospital. On the morning of the harvest, you will be taken to the operating room and given general anesthesia. This is so you will feel no discomfort while the bone marrow is being harvested. The BMT physician will withdraw the bone marrow from your pelvic bones (the posterior iliac crests). Afterwards, you may feel some soreness in the hip area where the bone marrow was withdrawn. This soreness can usually be relieved by taking oral medications like Tylenol.

For most donors, the opportunity to give a person, especially a loved one, a second chance at life is very exciting. Keep in mind, however, that not all transplants are successful. News of an unsuccessful transplant can be very hard on a donor who’s made a substantial physical and emotional investment in saving another person’s life. Donors can only be guaranteed that they’ll give the patient a future. Whether that future is two months, two years, or a lifetime cannot be predicted with certainty.

 Second:- Being a peripheral blood stem cell donor

If you are a match after HLA typing, you will be scheduled for a medical history and a physical evaluation by a BMT physician. If you are evaluated as a good candidate, you will be scheduled for a peripheral blood stem cell collection. Peripheral blood stem cells are obtained through a process called apheresis, which separates blood into its different components. The procedure involves inserting a needle into each arm. Blood is drawn from a vein in your arm and circulated through a cell-separating machine. This machine collects your stem cells and returns the remaining blood cells to a vein in your other arm. Stem cells collected by apheresis are frozen by a process called cryopreservation.

A special catheter may have to be inserted into one of your veins if it is determined that the veins in your arms are not adequate for the procedure.

Before and during apheresis you will receive daily injections containing Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) to help stimulate your bone marrow to make new stem cells. The drug is injected under the skin using a small needle. The most common side effect of this medication is bone aches due to the stimulation of your bone marrow.

Apheresis typically takes about five hours to complete and may be repeated the next day to collect the number of stem cells needed for the recipient.

Apheresis is a painless procedure. Some people occasionally experience lightheadedness, coldness, numbness around the lips or cramping in the hands during the collection. These are temporary symptoms and are easily managed.

The BMT physician will decide whether you will be a bone marrow or a peripheral blood stem cell donor based on the needs of the recipient.